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Thursday, 23 May 2019

The Moth and the Flame, the second romantic standalone in the When Rivals Play series by B.B. Reid.

THE FLAME

Here lies Louchana Valentine. She was a homeless, orphaned virgin.

I never cared what my gravestone would say until I landed in deep with a powerful gangster. Lucky for me, my best friend happens to be ruthless too. I should feel guilty that he’s forced to turn on the man who’s been a father to him. Except I’ve always known that Wren’s soul wasn’t as black as he claimed.

He was good.

He was beautiful.

He was mine.

He just didn’t know it yet.

And with Wren keeping me safe, I’ve got time left to rewrite the end of my story. But if he has his way, virgin is already carved in stone.

THE MOTH

I’ve never known anyone as alluring as Lou. Or as frustrating. Since the night she saved my life and stole my wallet for her troubles, I couldn’t stay away.

She became my onus.

My light.

My…anyway.

With nowhere to run, I’m forced to trust someone I never expected. At least with Lou safe in Blackwood Keep—far away from me—I’ll die with my conscience intact. Because she no longer looks at me with friendship in her eyes. Those iridescent blues shine with a different need entirely, and I’ve never been able to deny her.

It is strongly advised that you read The Peer and the Puppet before diving into The Moth and the Flame. Content suitable for ages 18+.

I gave this book 4.25 stars. While I adored this book, I definitely have enjoyed a lot of B. B. Reid’s other books more. This was a book that I adored, but not one that I loved so much that I had to go back and reread it ten times in a row. Nevertheless, it is a B. B. Reid book which much like pizza, even when it’s bad it’s still pretty fricken good.

This book was surprisingly uneventful. At least the first half was. I felt like the first half of the book was more establishing the characters and their backstories but not much plot action really happened until part two.

This book was the friends to lovers trope done right. I have read some atrocious books with that trope and I’m here to say that you can do it wrong. As it is one of my favorite tropes I have to applaud when it is done right. The romance was slow burning and sexy, this entire book was just building up the anticipation of these two characters finally getting it together without ruining their relationship.

We got a brief glimpse into the dynamic between Wren and Lou in the first book in this series, just enough to get us hooked. Lou is a street kid. She picks pockets and knows her way around back alleyways. she also has one helluva sharp tongue that she can use to destroy her enemies. And her friends. Or both. Just for fun. As a main character, I have to give her all of the stars. I love main characters that have a lot of personality who are loud and sneaky and know what they want. If you enjoy that type of protagonist this would probably be a good book choice for you.

Now Wren. Wren is very complicated. You don’t really know too much about him until pretty much the end of the book when his secrets start to reveal themselves. He doesn’t even know some of the secrets in his own life and honestly, that’s funny to me in an ironic way. He is conflicted about his relationship with Lou throughout the book and it can get so incredibly sexy at times. I’m legit glad it isn’t too hot out while I was reading this because I would have melted.

Overall, .75 taken off of the star rating system because I found that the beginning of the novel was a bit slow. The rest of the book earned the other 4.25 with a masterful twisting and turning plot and romance.

Excerpt:

Lou didn’t awaken when I climbed through her window, weary and angry, late the following night. My prediction had come true. I’d gone back to Blackwood Keep, and against my better judgment, I confronted Danny Boy.

Or rather Ever McNamara.

Heir to a multibillion-dollar hotel empire.

And the only son of Thomas McNamara.

Surprisingly, what bothered me most wasn’t Danny Boy or his double life. Something about his father had seemed familiar to me. As if I’d known him in another lifetime.

I shook my head as I toed off the black and white striped Adidas Lou had picked out, swearing the sneakers almost made me look normal. I snorted, and with a moan, she shifted in her sleep causing the sheet covering her lower half to slip dangerously low. Before I could rethink it, I ran my fingers over the curve of her naked hip now bare to me. Thoughts of Ever McNamara fled to the recesses of my mind as I marveled at the smoothness of her skin.

It was a surprising contrast to her hardened demeanor, but I always knew it was a front. She was a pillar, no doubt standing tall and appearing strong, but one day, her cracked foundation would crumble, and I’d make damn sure I was around to pick up the pieces.

Even if she didn’t want me to be.

There were times when she didn’t appreciate just how seriously I took my role as her best friend. She claimed I acted like her father rather than her friend. If that was what she called making sure no one ever hurt her again, then sure—I’d daddy the fuck out of her.

Another moan slipped from her lips when my fingers reach the edge of her frilly blue panties, but this time, it was the sound of my name on her lips. For a second, I panicked, thinking she’d caught me perving on her, but when her even breaths continued, I realized she was still very much out of it, and a smile slowly formed as my fingers dipped lower.

“What are you dreaming right now, Lou?”

Her breath seemed to catch as I continued to toy with the seam of her panties.

“Are you dreaming of me?”

She sighed in response.

“You are, aren’t you?”

A low whine escaped her.

“I know what you’re after, little Valentine. I’ve known all along.” We both seemed to stop breathing when my fingers dipped beneath her panties and I felt her smooth skin. “How can you be sure you can handle me when I haven’t even kissed you yet?” I swallowed, cursing myself but then decided to allow myself honesty. At least this once.

She was writhing now, attempting to relieve the ache I knew was building, but we both knew it was useless. Nothing short of getting me inside her would ever do.

“You want to come.” It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact. “But you don’t get to come. You’ve been bad, Lou. This is how I’ll punish you.” I freed my fingers from her panties and stepped back. As if I’d snapped my fingers, breaking her from my spell, she jackknifed from the bed, breathing hard and looking around in confusion. When her gaze pierced the dark and found me, I remain perfectly still, my hands already in my pockets, pretending my fingers weren’t burning with the memory of her soft skin.

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

My Thoughts:

I gave this book 5 stars. I have never been disappointed by a Colleen Hoover book. I feel like she always writes exactly what I need to read. I felt like this book brought me back to the Hopeless days.

This is the book I needed so bad last year when I was graduating. I was having a bit of a crisis and I felt a lot of what Merit was feeling. I found that this book was the most relatable of Colleen Hoover's novels, for me at least. Not really the family drama, but everything else. Anyway, this book made me realize that I probably am depressed and I just didn’t realize it until now. Don’t you just love it when books do that?

I actually find it kind of surprising that the score for this on Goodreads is as low as it is. I went through this book just feeling as though my own feelings were being validated. I realize not everyone has the same experiences, but for me personally, this one was pretty on the nose. Anyway, I found that I connected with this book in a way that I haven’t connected to another book since I read the Outsiders six years ago.

Honestly, I can just picture this being an indie “coming of age” movie. You know, there is a little bit of romance, a little bit of a quarter-life crisis, a little bit of family drama. I can see the movie in my mind's eye. It might be a little boring depending on how the director would playmthings, and it would probably get Oscar nominations and such and all those indie critics will call it a piece of art. I think it would be a really pretentious movie, but it was a really good book. Don’t let pretentious movie vibes scare you away from reading this book.

Throughout the novel, I kept thinking “Merit Badge” simply because her name is Merit and she likes to collect trophies. I realize that those things really aren’t that similar but I thought it was kind of fun.

I liked how Sagan talked about his and his families experience with the Syrian Refugee Crisis. It wasn’t just some random thing that was happening in the world, it was actually something that affected him and gave substance to his character arc. Like Merit, I didn’t really know much about the Syrian Refugee Crisis other than the name. It was probably because I was too young to really know that it was happening when it was happening. I still don’t know a lot about it, but I loved how it gave a break down of what happened. As a reader, I feel like I’m just a little bit more informed about what is happening in the world. I kind of feel guilty that I didn’t already.

This book didn’t make me cry like the last two books I read by this author, but it did make me feel a lot of things. Some of them not so great, but at the same time sort of freeing. Let’s just leave it at I think about this book a lot.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is nearing high school graduation, people that don’t really know what they want to do with their lives, for people that are suffering from depression or think they might be. I think this was a book that was amazing for self-reflection.

I gave this book 4 stars. This was such a cute heartfelt romance. I haven’t read any of the other books in this series.

Honestly, I didn’t even realize it was part of a series until halfway through the book. I think it stands well on its own, it can be read as a standalone if you don’t want to read the first two books. I was never lost when reading the book, however, I do think that it might enhance the reading experience if you read the other two books first because those characters do make several appearances in this book.

Leigh and Game were so heartfelt. They were an on again off again couple for twelve years and honestly I don’t think any part of me thought that they weren’t going to work things out. Being only over 200 pages, the story was short but sweet. And the characters themselves made for an interesting dynamic.

Leigh was such a funny character. I love having protagonists with bucketloads of personality and I really felt that Leah had that. I loved how her humour was flawlessly incorporated in order to relieve some of the heaviness of the rest of the story.

I also liked that neither of them had overly conventional career choices. I feel like there is such a need now for everyone to go to college or university right out the gate that if you do anything other than that, people will judge you. Both of them found their callings without having to spend any more time going to school because sometimes school just isn’t the right move for people.

Overall, if you are looking for an NA novel to read that isn’t too heavy but isn’t a pocket full of sunshine then this would be a good read for you.

Excerpt:

Finally, after what feels like a millennium, the door opens and Dr. Mallard enters, smiling. He’s an older man who is always overly happy. I like him, even if I find his cheerfulness somewhat off-putting at this exact second.

“Mrs. Simms, how exciting to have you here today. This must be your husband.” He walks over to Gabe, who stands, hand extended.

“Sorry, no,” I chime in. “Definitely not my husband.”

“My fault,” he apologizes. “Your boyfriend. This is a new age. Lots of people in lifelong relationships nowadays without marriage.”

Awkward.

“Nope,” I say, popping my P with a bit more attitude than intended. “We aren’t together.” I look over at Gabe, who’s holding his laughter in and I silently yell Help me!

“Just got her knocked up,” Gabe finally speaks. “Classic fairy tale story of ex-sex turning into a baby. Turns out those silly condoms serve a purpose and really shouldn’t be skipped. Who knew?”

“Seriously!” I yell while shooting him daggers with my eyes. All he does to respond is shrug his shoulders and give me an evil grin.

“Okay, Miss Simms, if you can lie back and put your feet up we can check on this little miracle,” Dr. Mallard finally says as the nurse pulls the stirrups out and helps me assume the position.

Even if you don’t want your ex-boyfriend back you still always want them to think of you as the sexy one who got away, not the girl nude and exposed with her legs in the air while a doctor probes her. Great, fucking great.

“Sure.” I lie back and my head jerks to Gabe. “But you stay north of the equator.”

“Not a problem, Leigh.” He smiles at me. “But it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Well, it’s definitely something you’re never seeing again,” I snap back at him, causing the nurse to let a small chuckle escape.

I try to act cool by the fact that the doctor seems to think sticking a huge wand up me is perfectly normal.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Our bickering immediately stops. The room is dark and the monitor next to me is lit up.

“Is that—” Gabe starts.

“That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” the doctor interrupts. “And if you look over here, you see that small little bean shape in the middle there.” He points to the picture on the ultrasound machine. “That’s your baby. It’s currently approximately the size of a raspberry.”

“Wow,” Gabe and I both somehow say at the same time.

We finish the appointment with a plethora of information. Gabe is quiet and the silliness that existed in the examination room is gone. We check out and walk side by side. Neither of us bringing up everything we need to discuss.

Does him showing up mean he wants to be involved? Does he assume we will get back together? Can we even do this together? Do I want to?

All the questions are running rampant in my head and instead of saying a single one of them I simply say, “I’ll let you know when I have another appointment.”

“Thanks.” He holds the door to the building open, letting me walk outside, him close on my heels. “I want to be here for you and our child as best as I can.”

I nod, but my mind is still back in that office with that beautiful baby. My baby.

“We ought to talk, Leigh.”

“You’re right. But today I got to hear my—our, baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Let’s not ruin it, okay?” We’re standing in the middle of the parking lot, neither of us moving to our respective vehicles.

“Okay, but soon.”

About Miranda

Miranda is a loving wife and barely surviving mother of three occasionally good kids. Her hobbies include lying to herself about the calories in donuts and banana pudding, as well as running out of excuses when procrastinating. She's been an avid reader since she was a young girl. Whether she's by the pool, curled up in bed, or hiding in the closet, as long as she has a book in her hands she’s happy.

The Moth and the Flame returns to the world of Blackwood Keep, rival gangs, and deliciously flawed yet completely addicting characters!

The Moth and the Flame, the second romantic standalone in the When Rivals Play series by B.B. Reid is LIVE!

THE FLAME

Here lies Louchana Valentine. She was a homeless, orphaned virgin.

I never cared what my gravestone would say until I landed in deep with a powerful gangster. Lucky for me, my best friend happens to be ruthless too. I should feel guilty that he’s forced to turn on the man who’s been a father to him. Except I’ve always known that Wren’s soul wasn’t as black as he claimed.

He was good.

He was beautiful.

He was mine.

He just didn’t know it yet.

And with Wren keeping me safe, I’ve got time left to rewrite the end of my story. But if he has his way, virgin is already carved in stone.

THE MOTH

I’ve never known anyone as alluring as Lou. Or as frustrating. Since the night she saved my life and stole my wallet for her troubles, I couldn’t stay away.

She became my onus.

My light.

My…anyway.

With nowhere to run, I’m forced to trust someone I never expected. At least with Lou safe in Blackwood Keep—far away from me—I’ll die with my conscience intact. Because she no longer looks at me with friendship in her eyes. Those iridescent blues shine with a different need entirely, and I’ve never been able to deny her.

It is strongly advised that you read The Peer and the Puppet before diving into The Moth and the Flame. Content suitable for ages 18+.

About B.B. Reid:B.B. Reid is a bestselling author of new adult romance. She grew up the only daughter and middle child in a small town in North Carolina. After graduating with a Bachelors in Finance, she started her career at an investment research firm while continuing to serve in the National Guard. She currently resides in Charlotte with her moody cat and enjoys collecting Chuck Taylors and binge-eating chocolate.Please visit her website for more information: www.bbreid.com

Miranda is a loving wife and barely surviving mother of three occasionally good kids. Her hobbies include lying to herself about the calories in donuts and banana pudding, as well as running out of excuses when procrastinating. She's been an avid reader since she was a young girl. Whether she's by the pool, curled up in bed, or hiding in the closet, as long as she has a book in her hands she’s happy.

Wednesday, 15 May 2019

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world--a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues -- a bee, a key, and a sword -- that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians -- it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction.

Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose--in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

My Thoughts:
I've been waiting forever for Erin Morgenstern to finally come out with another book. Her book The Night Circus is one of my all-time favorites (they're making a movie of it btw. Also really excited for that one). Erin Morgenstern has such a specific style of writing that I can't wait for more of. The Night Circus had such a dreamy magical atmosphere and it makes me wonder how this book will compare; whether it will have that same sort of atmosphere or if the authors can create a whole new atmosphere while maintaining her own specific style. Also, kind of blows my mind that it took her eight years to write another book. I mean, she's good at it so I won't judge her too harshly. At least it hasn't been 20 years like another famous author with a book coming out soon. Hint hint.Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!Follow @Bookballistic0Follow

Monday, 13 May 2019

Greetings friends, I was supposed to go to the beach today but those plans got canceled. Nevertheless, I figured I would recommend some beach reads for those of you actually going to the beach.Practical Magic

The movie and the prequel are a lot more heavy than the book actually is. If you are looking for a book with endlessly beautiful imagery and character descriptions with four love stories in one book with a bit of magic mixed in, then this one would be good for you. Honestly, I could picture myself sitting on a beach reading this one.The Princess Saves Herself in this One

If you want to read something more along the poetry lines this would be a good choice. The next books in this poetry series get a bit darker than this one, but honestly, if you just want to read something with themes of feminism and loving yourself first then this would be a great one for you. It's also a very quick read and I do think you would be able to finish this with just a day at the beach.The Summer of Chasing Mermaids

I was disappointed by this one as a whole, but I have to say that it had the perfect beach mood. If you just want the beach atmosphere along with a main character that is actually a person of color for once, then this would probably be a good choice for you.Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Something a little bit funny and young for you guys. The movie is good and all but the book is 10x better than the movie. It's lighthearted and you get a very whimsical coming of age story about a hilarious main character. I could wax poetic about this book, highly recommend this one.I'll Give You the Sun

It's been a little while since I've shoved this book down your throats, but here it is! It's got summertime, beaches, sibling relationships, romance, art. This book is dreamy. The perfect summer fantasy.I'd Tell You I Loved You But Then I'd Have to Kill You

This one is just fun and a little silly at times. It's for younger YA readers, it's a very light book emotionally. It's got some spying mixed in along with an all-girls boarding school. Another book I can imagine having a lot of fun with sitting on the beach.Death By Bikini

I feel like I've definitely talked about this book on a summer book list before, I don't remember which one. This one is set on a private island so it just gives off all of the summertime vibes that you want from a book when sitting poolside or on a sandy beach. It's also got the exciting spying angle and I could see this being the perfect beach read.The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls

This one is the perfect rom-com type YA summer read. You have four sisters all trying to figure things out one summer, it's full of romance and relationships between siblings, along with coming of age themes.Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!Follow @Bookballistic0Follow

Friday, 10 May 2019

Thanks for joining me today! It's my birthday today and I thought, what better way to celebrate me getting older than to rant about tropes that make me angry? So today I will be ranting about something I never even really thought about until recently: The Ugly Duckling turned Swan trope that is everywhere. I find that this is more of an issue in movies than in books, but I still find that it is a reacurring trope even now.
I'm all for female empowerment and I do appreciate someone going through changes in order to feel better about themselves. However, I often feel as though with this trope the female character who is glowing up, isn't really appreciated as a human being until she has become "beautiful". I hate it because when these young girls are reading these books they feel as though they too have to undergo these changes in order to be of value.

It makes me think a lot about that one scene in the Harry Potter books where Hermione has her front teeth shrunken down because Snape, Malfoy, and endless others were terrible to her about them. I definitely don't think this trope applies to Hermione exactly. I just felt for her so much in those books especially considering the way that other characters would always criticize her appearance. I respected her a lot because of the fact that for the most part, she never had to conform in order to be brilliant. Growing up I think Hermione was a great role model for young girls despite the whole tooth thing.

I don't know, it just sort of pisses me off that girls are held to impossibly high standards; And that there are books out there that celebrate women conforming to societal definitions of beauty just so they can feel like they fit in. There are movies out there like She's All That where the entire plot is based on this sweet nerdy girl becoming that It girl and before that everyone sort of sees her as a joke. She's not really taken seriously because she isn't "beautiful" yet and then once she is her love interest finally cares about her. It's so incredibly annoying.

There are books and movies that I understand the transformation like The Princess Diaries for example. You know she had a role that she needed to fit and I understand why her transformation happened, it would have been the same if Mia had been a dude. I mean, you can't wear cleats to a ballet recital. However, I highly doubt that most stories that include this trope actually have this type of foresight in mind.

Anyway PSA: Stop making female characters unnoticed until they're pretty. Girls should be treated with basic human decency whether or not they choose to be high maintenance or low maintenance.Thoughts on the subject?Feel free to add me on social media! And you can follow my blog in the sidebar to be notified when I post!Follow @Bookballistic0Follow

About Me

My name's Jessie. I'm currently a university student who decided to start this blog 5 years ago. I love books so I wanted to have someplace where I could speak freely about them. Since I don't have many people to talk to about books, I started a blog. I would have made a booktube channel, but my social anxiety keeps me from doing that. I feel much safer writing reviews from behind my keyboard like any other internet troll. With slightly less trolling. (Also that's a picture of me with my friends cat on my shoulders. Isn't he the cutest?).